


bright

by magearna



Series: college/soulmate au [9]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magearna/pseuds/magearna
Summary: college + soulmate au // in which you live in a world where everyone has a soulmate timer on their wrist, which keeps track of time from the moment you're born and only stops when you meet your soulmate. // he was like an angel coming to your rescue, except he had a snapback on instead of a halo.





	

**Author's Note:**

> still alive, school's been extremely busy ;_;

It’s slightly past nine in the morning on a Sunday when you finally emerge from your room, blanket wrapped around your frame like a cape as you waddle over to the kitchen. But before you open the refrigerator, you notice a purple sticky note on the handle and you peel it off so you can take a closer look. Squinting, you make out the messy handwriting belonging to Haeun, who was your cousin and roommate.

> _Last minute call from work, we need eggs tofu regular/banana milk instant coffee bread ramyun chicken wings bread crumbs soybean paste black bean paste will buy dinner xoxo_

 

You click your tongue in annoyance; you and Haeun had gone on a grocery run a few days ago and you had insisted to buy the items that were now listed on the sticky note so that a return trip would be unnecessary. However, Haeun insisted that there were still a lot of those food items that could last till next week’s grocery run.

Obviously, she was _wrong_. You sigh, opening the refrigerator to see what you could eat for breakfast before going on a quick grocery run. At least there was still milk left for your cereal.

–

The neighborhood your apartment building was situated in was also where many students from your university lived, dotted with apartment buildings and boarding houses. It was a good twenty-minute walk from campus and was also close to the train station, a few grocery stores, and some restaurants. It was in a convenient location but the only downside was that the neighborhood was on a hill, which made it _hell_ for you to climb uphill with bags of groceries in your hands.

You grit your teeth as you walk back to your building and you see the slope of the hill. Going downhill was no problem but the uphill trip back to your apartment was the worst. You and Haeun hated it, dubbing the upward climb to the residence “leg hell”. Luckily the weather wasn’t too unfavorable so the trek back shouldn’t be too bad but you dreaded it nonetheless since you had four bags of groceries in your hands.

You’re busily mentally grumbling about your cousin (“I _told_ her we should’ve bought every thing at once _”_ ) when you hear someone calling out to you.

“Hey! Do you need any help?” 

You whirl around and what greets you is a tall boy with rumpled brown hair under a black snapback that was perched on his head backwards. He’s wearing a dark blue short-sleeved baseball top, ripped black jeans, and he was perched on top of a skateboard. The boy is staring at you with concern in his eyes as his head tilted slightly in an endearing manner. 

“Uh…? Me?” You ask looking around quickly, becoming somewhat flustered. 

The boy gives a laugh as he hops off and tucks the skateboard under his arm. “Uh, yes?”

“Oh…! Uh….sure.” You pass on two bag of groceries to the boy’s outstretched hands. “Thank you.”

“I’m Lee Chan, by the way,” the boy says, smiling at you kindly. “What’s your name?”

You give him your name and he smiles at you again. “Do you go to the university down the road too?” Chan asks.

“Yeah!” You nod. “Though it’s kind of obvious since a lot of us who live here are all students.”

He laughs. “Ah, right? Most of our neighbors are students. My hyungs and I live at that gray and white apartment over there.”

Your eyes squint at the direction he’s nudging his head at and you let out an “oh” of surprise. “Huh, that’s the building across mine.”

Chan’s eyes crinkle into crescent moons in amusement. “Really? That means we’re neighbors – well kind of, but still neighbors in a sense! Small world, huh?”

You can’t help but giggle as the two of you continued to talk while making your way up the hill. Before you know it, the two of you reach your apartment. You had initially thought that the trip up the hill with the groceries was going to take you at least ten minutes but with Chan, it felt shorter than expected. The two of you had spent the entire climb back talking about what you were studying and things you guys liked. You didn’t expect to get along with him so quickly and so easily, considering that it took you your entire courage to ask your classmates to be your study buddy in lectures in case you got sick and missed out on notes. But with Chan, it was easy to talk to him thanks to his bright personality.

“Well here we are,” you say as Chan hands back the bag of groceries to you. “Thank you again for your help!”

Chan beams at you. “No problem! If you need help again, you can always come next door and ask the landlord for me. I’m usually in the skate park behind the engineering building too!”

You can’t help but smile. You just met Chan but here he was, already letting you know that you can always find him for help. It was very sweet and generous of him, really, to suddenly tell a stranger they just met that they could always come to him for help. “Ah, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you again.”

You give him a wave from inside the lobby, which is returned by Chan with an enthusiastic one before speeding away on his skateboard. You can’t stop the smile breaking across your face as you press the button for the elevator. _Cute_ , you think as the elevator doors open.

–

You’re making flashcards at your desk when Haeun opens the door to your room with a bang, startling you at the sudden noise and her sudden arrival.

“What the hell, you scared me!” You hiss, hand flying to your chest.

“I bought dinner!” Haeun announces. “C’mon, go wash your hands!”

“What did you get?” You ask, taking your usual seat at the dining table once you finished washing your hands at the sink.

“Jjajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork,” Haeun grins proudly before she starts digging into the food. “Consider it my treat after I sent you on that last minute grocery run.”

“Well thanks,” you say as you roll up the sleeves of your hoodie, taking chopsticks in your hands and popping a piece of sweet and sour pork in your mouth. “Ah, so good.”

The next few moments are quiet, the two of you absorbed in eating your meals. However, after a sip of water, Haeun breaks the silence.

“Your soulmate timer stopped?”

You swallow. “What?”

Haeun points at your wrist. “Your timer stopped.”

Your gaze focuses on the numbers engraved on your wrist and your lips form an “o” shape. The numbers that you were so used to watching increase day by day had _finally_ stopped.

“Oh…it stopped,” you manage to say, setting down your chopsticks.

Haeun sets down her chopsticks as well. “ _Oooooh my god_ , your soulmate timer stopped and you didn’t even know it!”

“Well I’m _soooorry_ ,” you huff, making a face at your cousin. “I was wearing a hoodie all day that I didn’t realize.”

There’s a disappointed look on Haeun’s face. “Then you don’t know who he is?”

You pause. “Um…well, I did meet someone new? He helped me carry the groceries uphill back to here.”

“Oh my god?!” Haeun slams her hands down on the table excitedly, startling you. “What’s his name?!”

“Um…it’s Lee Chan,” you respond slowly, finally putting the pieces together and understanding where Haeun’s trying to go with the conversation. “He said he lives at the apartment building across ours.”

Your cousin claps her hands excitedly like a seal. “He’s totally your soulmate! You met him today, right? It’s totally him! You should tell him when you see him next time!” 

“ _No way!_ ” You yell, waving your hands in front of you as a blush creeps on your cheeks. “I can’t do that!”

“Are you going to let the opportunity escape you?” Haeun karate-chops your head harshly and you whimper, clutching your head. She produces her phone from the pocket of her sweater, unlocking the screen. “Don’t be silly. Now let’s go see if he has Facebook.”

“Oh my god, don’t just –“ You try to snatch Haeun’s phone from her hand and she shrieks.

“Okay, I won’t, jeez! Keep eating!”

You make a face at your cousin, which is returned with a scowl. However, Haeun _did_ have a valid point about taking the opportunity and letting your soulmate know right away. Some of the sad stories you’ve read on the internet were about people who hesitated and told their soulmate know too late, only for them to have regrets.

There was no way you were going to let that happen, not when your soulmate was nearby.

–

You’re sorting clean, air-dried laundry into baskets to fold indoors when you faintly hear music. You turn around and notice that it’s coming from the suite across your balcony, which was part of the same building where Chan said that he lived in. The suite across yours has their balcony door open and you watch as a boy dressed dark clothes moonwalks past the view with a broom in his hand.

The sight of the boy dancing around amuses you that you can’t help but stop and watch until the boy whirls around and notices you staring.

“Oh, _crap_.” You mutter, cheeks flushing in embarrassment and guilt while you hastily stuff the rest of the laundry into the baskets and kicking one of them into the living room. 

The boy yells out just as you were about to go back inside. “Oh! It’s you!”

You stop and blink upon realizing how familiar the voice was. “Chan?” 

Chan steps out into his apartment’s balcony, broom in his hand. “Hey! What a surprise.”

You smile. “Hey. Nice moves you got there.”

His eyes curve into crescents upon your compliment. “Thank you very much! So we meet again, huh? I didn’t think you were the one who lived right across from us.”

“Well…the world moves in mysterious ways.” You respond sagely.

Chan chuckles. “Did you have dinner yet?”

You nod. “We had jjajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork from the restaurant that’s near the grocery store. What about you?”

“Oh! We had jjajangmyeon from that restaurant too! Their food’s really good.” 

“Really? What other dishes do you recommend? We always get jjajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork every time so maybe we’ll try something different next time!” 

Chan pauses to think for a moment, resting his chin on top of the handle of the broom as he leans on it. “Well, there’s –“

“ _Chan!_ ” Three older boys emerge from inside the apartment, one of them locking Chan’s head under his arm. “Who are you talking to?”

“Ah – _hyung,_ _that hurts!_ ” The boy yelps. “I’m talking to our neighbor!”

The three new arrivals turn their attention to you and greet you energetically. One of them, who had messy blond hair and eyes reminiscent to the hands of the clock pointing to 10:10, nags at Chan. “C’mon, hurry and finish your chores already so we can go to Seungcheol-hyung’s place.”

“ _Agh_ , fine!” Chan grumbles, shrugging off the older boy’s arm. He gives you an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I have to go. I’ll talk to you next time, okay?”

“Oh…yeah,” you smile back as the boys politely say their farewells before heading back inside.

But just as Chan’s about to go back inside, you suddenly cup your hands over your mouth and call out. “Lee Chan! You’re my soulmate!”

Chan freezes in his tracks and he turns around to look at you with a bewildered look. A giggle escapes your lips as you raise your arm, pointing at your soulmate timer. The boy’s rooted at his spot, staring at his wrist then back at you, his mouth falling open in surprise. With a wave, you set foot inside your apartment with the laundry basket under your arm.

Right before you close the balcony door, however, Chan cups his hands over his mouth and he calls out. “Let’s go see each other tomorrow!”

You smile and nod in response. There’s an unmistakable bright grin on Chan’s face as he waves at you before closing the door behind him. Your feel your heart racing in your chest – even though the next day was the dreaded Monday, you couldn’t wait for it to come quickly to see Chan again.


End file.
